Is it OK to smoke a cigarette during breastfeeding?

In fact, smoking is very harmful to the human body because some substances contained in smoke have strong carcinogenic components. Especially when women are breastfeeding, they should not smoke, because the baby will be exposed to secondhand smoke, and the harmful effects of secondhand smoke and direct smoking are similar. So for the sake of your baby's health, try not to smoke during breastfeeding, but is it okay to smoke a cigarette if you really can't help it?

cannot.

It is basic common sense not to smoke during breastfeeding.

If a mother smokes during breastfeeding, it will directly affect the amount of milk secretion and reduce it. Some of the nicotine in the cigarette will enter the breast milk through the blood. For a mother who smokes 10 cigarettes a day, 0.4-0.5 mg of nicotine can be separated from 1 kg of breast milk. Nicotine is absorbed into the baby's body through breast milk, which poses a serious threat to the baby's healthy growth.

The gas exhaled when smoking cigarettes, also known as second-hand smoke, will directly harm the health of babies.

The half-life of nicotine in a mother's body after smoking a cigarette is about 2 hours, and the main metabolic organ of nicotine is the liver. The half-life of its metabolite cotinine can reach 48 hours. The more you smoke, the higher the concentration of harmful substances in the blood. Therefore, it is best for mothers who are breastfeeding to quit smoking. After smoking a lot of cigarettes, they should wait three to one week before breastfeeding.

During pregnancy and breastfeeding, there are only two things that Xinbao Mama always advises you not to do - one is smoking and the other is drinking (if you insist on talking to me about XI DU or something like that, I will be helpless). If you insist on doing so, then I can only say that smoking, drinking and breastfeeding are relatively better for the child than smoking, drinking and formula feeding. But since we have given birth to the child, we should not talk about how good we are to the child materially and spiritually. At least don't hurt the child.

The dangers of smoking during breastfeeding.

Nicotine will enter breast milk and then into the baby's body. Large amounts of nicotine may cause nausea, vomiting, and discomfort in the baby. (However, the greater danger comes from second-hand smoke!!)

Smoking reduces the fat and protein content of breast milk. So babies whose mothers smoke need to pay closer attention to their weight gain.

Maternal smoking increases the risk of the baby suffering from colic, respiratory diseases (pneumonia, asthma, rhinitis, etc.), cardiovascular disease and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDDS) in the future.

What to do if you can't quit smoking

Try to reduce the amount of cigarettes you smoke every day

Monitor your child's weight gain closely

If you want to pump, do it right after breastfeeding. Half of the nicotine can be metabolized after about an hour and a half.

Parents who smoke should not share a bed with their children but can share a room with them, as sharing a bed increases the risk of sudden infant death.

Consider nicotine replacement therapy (NRT): using a low-dose nicotine patch to gradually cut off the craving for nicotine in tobacco while also reducing the harm of second-hand smoke.

In summary

The harm of second-hand smoke (tar volatilized from burning tobacco) is far greater than that of first-hand smoke (nicotine ingestion). So for the sake of the children, the whole family should quit smoking.